


Unsteady

by SEABlRD



Category: Warcraft (2016)
Genre: Gen, M/M, movie!verse, pining?, post-movie setting, spell practice gone wrong, unrequited?, you'll have to see :3c
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-09 23:50:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8918407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SEABlRD/pseuds/SEABlRD
Summary: I know you're tired of being alone,I know you're trying to fight when you feel like flying-----Khadgar goes out for some spell-casting practices, and he doesn't come backwell, not the same, anyway





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Toteczious](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Toteczious).



> my Liontrust Secret Santa for Toteczious!! it's not entirely done atm but soon!! ( 'v')9 i'm gonna try to put out one more chapter every day until Christmas! (and if I don't come kick me in the chat n get me to work >:V)
> 
> ps. yeah i'm _that_ fucker with the dramatic song lyric descriptions sue me

The spell is almost perfect, Khadgar muses as he treks through Elwynn Forest. Just a few minor tweaks, and he can finally master the ultimate polymorph spell! In theory, the spell would be usable on even intelligent minds, particularly spellcasters, lasting longer than it’s predecessor, and turn the target into a more… harmless, smaller creature. 

Sheep are nice, generally, but big. And when one tries to turn it’s hooves on you…

Regardless, Khadgar feels it’s time to test his new spell to smooth out any imperfections in it before putting it to use on the battlefield.

There are some cutpurses just outside of Stormwind, a band of unruly ruffians with nothing better to do with their spare time, and Khadgar is sure none of them would be particularly inconvenienced to be polymorphed for a day or two.

He creeps behind some bushes, remaining as low as he can, approaching the small camp slowly. There’s only one cutpurse there, at the moment, which Khadgar is glad for because he doesn’t particularly want to start a big fight. He straightens himself a little bit, breath shallow and quiet in his excitement. He raises a hand and begins to cast.

The cutpurse unexpectedly turns toward him at the very last moment, alarmed, and brings up a small metal shield just as Khadgar throws the spell. The last rune leaves his lips and he realizes too late that his plan may not have been as well thought-out as he first believed. 

He watches with dread as the flash of arcane bounces off the cutpurse’s shield and speeds toward him, instead. He’s thrown back by the impact, and feels his body change and warp, becoming smaller, with stubbier limbs. His side collides with the ground and the wind is knocked out of him, and all he can do is lay there in a daze while the cutpurse stops toward him.

“What’ve we here?” the goon says with a sneer, picking Khadgar up by the fur on the back of his neck, disregarding the pained noises the mage makes. “Aw, what’s a matter, cutie? You wanted to hit me with that spell?”

The man’s breath is unpleasant and Khadgar’s nose twitches in disgust. He kicks out as best as he can with his tiny legs, to no avail.

“Wanted to turn me into a pretty little bunny, huh? Good thing I had my special spell countering shield!” he laughs, shaking Khadgar roughly. The rabbit squeals in agony, finally managing to scratch the cutpurse’s hand with a blind swing of his paw. The cutpurse releases him with a cry, and the rabbit tumbles to the ground ungracefully.

Ignoring the pain crawling down his spine, Khadgar scrambles into the bushes, just narrowly avoiding being grabbed again. He internally curses when he realizes he left Atiesh behind, but he decides that staying alive and mostly unharmed is worth more than a staff. Besides, he could always come back for it once he’s human again.

He limps onto the road leading to Stormwind, the cobblestone cold under his paws, and he flops over with exhaustion. Sparks of pain travel along his nerves and he twitches uncomfortably, trying desperately to make the feeling go away. He hears boots heavy on the stone and he shuts his eyes, praying it’s not the bandit coming for him again.

\-----

Lothar spots the small creature on his way back from Goldshire, where he  _ surprisingly _ was for business rather than drinking. The tiny black lump of fur on the road is strikingly noticeable compared to the pale grey stones. The soldier looks both left and right but finds no children searching for a lost pet, so he hurries to the small beast’s side before one of Elwynn’s wolves gets to it.

“Hey, there, little guy,” Lothar murmurs, kneeling down beside the animal. It’s a rabbit, from what he can tell, and it shivers as it watches him approach. The rabbit’s eyes are wide with fear and it holds itself in a manner that makes Lothar think it might be injured. The man curses, looking around one last time, but nobody is coming for the animal. 

Lothar takes a deep breath and steels himself for what he’s about to do, because  _ Light forbid _ the Commander of the Stormwind Army show mercy to an animal that will likely fall prey to something larger than itself sometime in the future, and he bends down to scoop the rabbit in his hands.

It’s a tiny thing, he sighs, more of a  _ bunny  _ really, and it curls into itself when he brings it up to his chest. He thanks everything that he isn’t wearing his plate armor, today, and cradles the bunny to the soft leather of his jerkin to carry it home with him.

Nobody bothers him about it, which Lothar is glad for, and he makes his way to his small home relatively quickly. He shuts the door behind himself with his foot, pulling a small bowl from his kitchen and lining it with a blanket with one hand. 

Once the makeshift bed is done, he gently puts the bunny in it as delicately as he can. He shuffles around the pantry as quietly as he can to avoid disturbing the animal, finding some sad-looking vegetables in a corner and deeming them alright to eat. He washes them, just to make sure, and cuts them into smaller pieces to put beside the bunny’s bowl in case it gets hungry.

That being done, Lothar nods in satisfaction and grabs a pouch of coins from the counter and pulls on a vest that has pockets.

“Don’t go anywhere.” He tells the bunny, gently patting it and wincing when it squeaks in protest. “Okay, okay, I’ll get you something to help. You just stay put until I come back, got it?”

The bunny doesn’t reply, which Lothar should have been expecting, but it seems much less panicked than earlier so he counts that as a win.

Lothar checks on the bunny one last time, then heads out again to find that Burnhep girl to see if she has any animal medicine to spare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im laughing oh _man_ this is a blast from the past for me bc like. early 2012 anime fandom fanfics, it was _all about these random animal transformations_ good times my dudes
> 
> anyway @Tote I hope you like this! <3 hang in there, there's still a little bit left to go! ( 'v')b


	2. 2

Khadgar is amazed that he was saved, by Anduin Lothar no less! He never pegged the man as an animal-caring type, but then again there are always two sides to a person. He just always seemed so… distant, unapproachable, before. Not for Khadgar’s lack of trying, of course. The mage spent more than his share of time trying to approach the man, only to be dismissed or given a head rub with a haphazard ‘good job, kid’.

Humiliating, to say the least, especially when he feels as though his crush is scrawled all over his face in permanent ink. But, then again, Lothar isn’t known for being well-versed in the subtleties of flirting (or whatever Khadgar passed off as ‘flirting’).

He shuffles around in the bowl Lothar made for him, cringing every time he feels pain blossom, to get a better look at his surroundings. Lothar’s home is rather humble, but surprisingly modern. He even spots a small water pump in the far corner of the kitchen; a luxury not many can afford. Truth be told, he was expecting more of an army barrack-looking place, but instead the wooden house is warm and decorated with knick-knacks of all kinds. On the far wall, he spots an ornate cuckoo clock with a design that makes it look like a tiny Stormwind castle. 

Khadgar runs the past hour over in his mind, recalling every bit of it with a growing pit in his stomach. His new polymorph spell, when did it expire again? A day? Two? He tries to remember the runes he used, was it supposed to be  _ more _ effective against magic-using targets, or  _ less _ ? His head hurts from trying to think about it. Or, well, maybe his head hurts because  _ he _ hurts. Just in general.

He would try to get out of the bowl, if he wasn’t hurting so much. Even in this state, curiosity burns at him. What is it like, in Lothar’s private life? He knows the man drinks himself blind as often as he could without endangering his health, a habit both Khadgar and the Queen have been trying to break for months now, but what is he like when he’s  _ not _ insufferably drunk? 

More questions bounce around in his head until he’s dizzy with them. He takes a deep breath and lies down, taking care not to jostle himself too much. His delicate bunny body was  _ not _ made to take the rough treatment it got today.

He doesn’t know when Lothar will be back, either, so he figures it’s best to sleep for now. Hopefully he’ll feel a bit better when he wakes up.

Not an hour passes before the front door opens again and Lothar’s voice finds his ears, thanking somebody for coming over to help him out.  _ Help for what? _ Khadgar wonders, until he remembers the predicament he’s in.

He stretches to relieve his tensed muscles, forgetting himself and crying out with pain again. There’s some scuffling and a muffled curse and then long blonde hair is cascading into the bowl beside him as a familiar face peers down at him.

He recognizes Audrey Burnhep from the few times he’d run into her at the market, usually surrounded by a handful of the little pets she takes care of. She tried to sell him a little orange kitten, once, but Khadgar never really was one for keeping companion animals. Mostly on the grounds that he’d likely end up forgetting to feed them. Light, sometimes he forgets to feed  _ himself _ . 

The girl coos at him and picks him up gently, cradling him in her hands. Khadgar didn’t notice how small he really was until now, fitting snugly between her palms but no bigger. She lifts him to the window, turning him around in the light and inspecting him in a way that has Khadgar shuffling his paws shyly. 

Lothar’s head peeks over Audrey’s shoulder, looking concerned. “Is it going to be okay? Is it badly hurt?” the commander asks, and the pet trainer rolls her eyes.

“ _ He _ is going to be just fine,” she tells Lothar. “I’ll give you some bandages and ointment for his muscles, but otherwise he seems unharmed. It’s a good thing you found him when you did, I fear he might have gone into shock if you were a moment later.”

“How can you tell it’s a ‘he’?” 

_ Please don’t answer that, _ Khadgar thinks in mortification and nearly squirms himself out of Audrey’s grasp. Thankfully, the girl just gives Lothar a cheeky grin before turning back to take care of the bunny.

\-----

Lothar watches as Audrey tends to the small rabbit, rubbing some herbal-smelling ointment on the back of its, well  _ his _ , neck and his side. She carefully wraps the bunny with some bandages, then sets him back in the little bowl Lothar made for him.

“There we go!” she exclaims with a smile. “Change his dressing every day, and wipe off any dried or excess ointment. Remember, don’t put him in water! Just wipe him with a damp cloth, and he can groom himself on his own.”

The soldier makes a mental checklist of the things she tells him to do, including the things she mentioned on the way here, promising himself to write it down in case he forgets later. He fishes some coins out of his pouch as she packs up her equipment, leaving only the bandages and medicine on the table.

“Thank you again for your help, Audrey,” Lothar says, sighing. “Especially on such short notice. I’ll take good care of him until he’s better.”

“You know, I could take care of him for you. Wouldn’t even be a burden.” Audrey offers.

Lothar shakes his head in reply. “It’s fine, it’ll probably be better not to change his environment too much. The poor little guy’s been through enough, today.”

Audrey just nods and heads for the door. Lothar stops her before she leaves and presses the coins into her hand.

“Here, for your troubles,” he explains hastily. Audrey looks down and gasps.

“Commander! This is much more than my services are worth,” she protests, but he puts his hands up in surrender.

“Your time is valuable, and you clearly love animals a lot,” he says. “You deserve more than a couple of coppers for what you do for people’s pets, and all that. Keep the change and get yourself some nice things, or things for your pets. Whichever you prefer.”

With one last grateful smile, Audrey heads back to her cabin with some well-wishes for both Lothar and his poor bunny.


	3. 3

Khadgar watches as Lothar shuffles around in the kitchen, opening cupboard and swearing softly when he finds nothing of use. The commander grabs some parchment and a pen and jots something down, folding the paper up and sticking it in his pocket. Meanwhile, Khadgar fidgets with the bandages Audrey wrapped him in, wrinkling his nose at the strong-smelling ointment.

Whatever it takes to get him back to full health, he supposes. One of his tiny claws catches in the mesh of the bandage and he tugs it to pull it out, but it doesn’t come free. He pulls a bit harder, and some of the threads in the bandage come loose and tangle around his paw even further. If he were human, Lothar would be having the time of his life watching this, Khadgar thinks bitterly.

“Hey, don’t do that!” Speak of the devil... Lothar huffs, picking Khadgar up and untangling the bandage from around his foot. The man turns Khadgar around in his hand, presumably checking his other feet for tangles, before setting him back down in the bowl.

Khadgar would thank him, but the lack of human speaking capabilities is one of the perks of being polymorphed. He settles for a quick nod and a blink. Lothar looks at him in surprise before chuckling at him.

“Clever little thing, aren’t you? Smarter than your average dog, anyway.”

_ I’m not a dog, you bumbling idiot! _ Khadgar’s nose wrinkles in distaste.  _ I’d rather leave the canines to hunters and shamans, thank you very much _ . 

Lothar turns back to whatever it is he’s doing on the counter. It smells rather good, in contrast to the pungent medicine-coated bandages, and Khadgar hops a little closer to the edge of the table. He cranes his neck to see what the commander is doing.

The man has a knife in his hand and is deftly cutting some vegetables into little cubes, the same precision with which Khadgar’s seen him cut down enemies on the battlefield. The vegetables are gathered and dropped into a pot over the fire, presumably into water or broth, and Lothar stirs the mixture in silence. 

He turns his head to watch the bunny, raising an eyebrow curiously when he notices the animal watching him.

“You want some soup, buddy?” he asks, smirking. “Now, that’s too bad. This isn't for you, but I might have some veggies left over that I can give you. You didn't even eat what I gave you from before, anyway.”

Khadgar eyes the small pile of chopped vegetables that Lothar put beside his bowl earlier. He wasn’t hungry at the time, but the mage supposes that he should get something into his stomach before he collapses of starvation. He hops over to the food and picks up one of the bigger pieces and nibbles on it. It doesn’t taste very good, but it’s more edible than some of the rations he’s been made to eat before, so he can’t really complain. 

Lothar pulls out one of the chairs and drops into it with a thud, putting down a dish of soup with enough force for it to splash, startling Khadgar. He mutters an apology, then rest his head in his hand and watches the bunny eat.

“I know I said it before, but you’re pretty smart.” Lothar says, sounding amused. “For a rabbit, anyway. Must’ve been trained or something, yeah?”

Khadgar twitches his nose, the only response he can give with a mouth full of stale vegetables. 

“Do you actually understand what i say? Or is that just a reflexive trained reaction?”

Okay, that deserves a more in-depth answer. As best as he can, Khadgar stands on his back feet and stares Lothar right in the eye as he nods. The man seems impressed and a little bit scared.

“Okay, that's scary.” Lothar huffs. “How about this, pick up a carrot.”

Khadgar would love to glare at the man, but it turns out his tiny leporidae face is incapable of anything angry enough to convey his feelings. The mage turns to the pile of vegetables and pushes them around with his feet. 

He can’t see directly in front of himself, he realizes with frustration. A tiny blind spot right before his nose prevents him from being able to look at the vegetables head-on. He turns his head to the side slightly, inspecting the food with one eye. They mostly look various shades of grey, green, and blue, but he knows what a carrot smells like at the very least, and manages to pick out a slice. He picks it up with his teeth and carries it over to Lothar, then spits it out on the table beside the man’s dish of soup. 

If anyone ever asks, Anduin Lothar absolutely did  _ not _ squeak in fear at a small bunny performing a trick.


	4. 4

“Okay, now get the spoon!” Lothar urges, watching the small black bunny expectantly. Khadgar is far from amused at being made to perform tricks like some kind of  _ pet _ , but if that’s what it takes to get the commander clued in to the fact that he’s not a rabbit…

Khadgar hops over to the spoon, which Lothar put across from him beside a fork and a knife, and pushes it with his paw. Lothar, for his part, seems delighted with the outcome.

“Good boy!” he says, clapping. Khadgar feels like a fool, but this is the most enthusiastic feedback he’d ever gotten from the man so he’ll live with it. He pushes the spoon further until it’s right beside Lothar’s bowl of soup, which is likely cold by now. 

Lothar picks up the spoon, grinning brightly, and dips it into the soup. By the face he makes when he puts the spoon in his mouth, Khadgar assumes he was right about it being cold and internally smirks. He watches in amusement as Lothar gets up, grabbing his bowl, and trudging back to the fire and cursing under his breath. 

Khadgar flops onto his side and watches the man work, reheating the dish delicately and taking care not to burn his fingers in the process. Such a strange sight, so different from the distant and cocksure attitude Lothar puts on in front of… well, everybody.  _ How come? _ Khadgar thinks.  _ Why act like that?  _

If only Khadgar were human, he could probably ruin Lothar’s entire reputation by telling the whole guard that their confident, aloof commander takes care of baby rabbits on his spare time. Not that he wants to  _ destroy _ the man’s reputation, per se, but maybe take him down a peg. Or two. 

Lothar returns with his bowl of soup and resumes eating, much more satisfied with the temperature this time. He rests his head in his free hand and looks at Khadgar with a puzzled expression.

“So we’ve established that you’re pretty smart,” he states. “Some kid must’ve spent a long time training you, I bet. How come nobody was looking for you, then? Where’s your owner?”

Khadgar rubs his face with one paw, which is about as close to wiping his face in exasperation as he’ll get, and twitches his nose at the question. Owner? Ha! As if anyone could keep him under control. Even the  _ Kirin Tor _ couldn’t keep him under control. They kept him on the general ‘straight and narrow’  _ at best _ . 

Lothar doesn’t pick up on the cue, however, and keeps mumbling to himself. “They’re probably out there looking for you, y’know? I’ll have to put a flyer on the board or something, at least. Maybe they’ll realize you’re missing by then.”

_ Someone _ is definitely going to realize Khadgar’s missing, but it won’t be a kid looking for their pet rabbit. He laments not having done better calculations, or at least practiced the spell on a less dangerous target. It feels like he’s been a rabbit for days, though it’s only really been a few hours. Has it really been a few hours? He looks out the window, watching as the sun creeps behind the trees. Yeah, he’s been in this predicament for much longer than he’d anticipated.

He finishes up the pile of vegetables Lothar gave him while the commander eats the rest of his soup in silence, not seeming to be focusing on anything in particular. Every so often, his eyes dart around the room as though searching for something, but always return to his dish of soup. 

Khadgar may be imagining it, but it almost seems as though Lothar seems sadder with every pass his gaze makes. He crawls over to him and nudges his elbow with his nose. Lothar looks down at him, surprised, before smiling slightly. He puts the spoon down and pats Khadgar’s head.

“You done already, little guy? Just wait for me a bit and I’ll tuck you in, okay?” Lothar says, voice barely above a whisper. He hadn’t lit any candles, but the glow of the fire bathes the room in bronze as the last hit of sunlight drops below the horizon.

Khadgar leans against the commander’s arm as he finishes his soup, and they sit quietly in the gloom. This is nice, he thinks, just this. Sitting in silence together, comfortable in the warmth of home. Too bad he can’t do this with Lothar as a human too, but ah, now is not the time to be thinking of what-ifs and such. Dealing with his dumb crush is a Human Khadgar problem, for now.

Eventually Lothar gets up, dislodging Khadgar from where he was nestled, and puts his dish away. Khadgar hears some water running, probably Lothar rinsing his dish, and then he’s being picked up. Lothar minds the bandages around Khadgar’s side and spine, which the mage is more than thankful for, and gently puts him back in the padded bowl. 

Khadgar rests his head on the lip of the bowl and watches Lothar pick up some stuff around the kitchen, putting away the pot and utensils. The man checks everything over one more time, then waves to Khadgar with a tired ‘goodnight’ before disappearing behind the wall. Khadgar hears heavy footsteps going up some stairs, probably to where Lothar’s bedroom is, and he’s asleep before he even hears the man close his door.


	5. 5

Khadgar wakes up to the smell of warm bread and the soft clinking of plates and utensils. He blinks his eyes open and looks around the kitchen, finding Lothar at the counter once again. The man is humming something, just barely audible, and appears to be unpacking some groceries, which happens to include the aforementioned warm bread. And some healthier-looking vegetables.

Khadgar stretches tentatively, pleased to find that his pain has significantly diminished since yesterday. He yawns and stretches just a little further, then scoots to the edge of the bowl. Lothar catches sight of him and grins.

“Mornin’, little guy,” he chuckles. “Sleep well? I got you some better veggies, so you better eat them this time.”

Khadgar exhales harshly, almost like a sneeze, and flicks his ear. The nerve! He ate just fine yesterday, it’s not like he was picky or anything. The mage leans further onto the bowl’s lip, and squeaks in surprise when it begins to tilt. He hops backward just in time to prevent it from tipping over, and it lands on it’s base with a dull  _ thud _ .

“Hey, be careful with that!” Lothar says loudly, hurrying over and picking up the bowl with Khadgar still in it. He turns the bowl around, then sets it back on the table with a sigh. “Don’t go breaking this thing, you hear me? It’s very important. I’d hate to put Miss Burnhep’s good work to waste, hm?”

Khadgar has no idea what’s so special about the bowl, but he understands a threat when he hears one. He nods vigorously, to Lothar’s delight, and sits back down firmly in the middle of the blanket. 

Satisfied, Lothar returns to his groceries and puts everything away. He grabs the bread and tears off a piece, eating it fresh, and Khadgar internally winces. He, personally, would have preferred to butter the bread first, at the very least. 

Lothar resumes his humming, a little louder this time, and opens some cupboards until he finds something he needs. He grabs it and turns to the water pump, and Khadgar hears the sound of something being filled with liquid. His question is answered when Lothar puts a small dish of water near his bowl, along with a new pile of vegetables. 

Khadgar is picked up again and placed on the table. Lothar hesitates a bit before slowly unwrapping the bandages. The smell of dried ointment assaults Khadgar’s nose and his eyes tear up with the strength of it. He wiggles uncomfortably, but allows the man to rewrap him with fresh ointment and bandages. 

“Does that hurt? Sorry.” Lothar says, not sounding very sorry at all. He wads up the old bandages and tosses them near the door. Khadgar rolls his shoulders experimentally, pleased to find that Lothar’s bindings are a little less tight than Audrey’s. He hops over to the dish of water and drinks deeply.

The rest of the morning involves a couple more tricks from Lothar, much to Khadgar’s annoyance, but mostly they lounge together in silence. Lothar is reading something, but he doesn’t seem very focused on it. Khadgar counts the time, and notices that the man spends a lot longer on each page than necessary. 

The mage hops over to Lothar and crawls under his arm, finding a comfortable spot to curl up near his elbow again. His eyes find the words on the page and he reads a few passages until he recognizes what book it is. Were he human, he would have laughed.

It’s the book he’d gotten Lothar for Winter Veil last year, a fiction novel about an elven druid seeking the power of the wolf demigod Goldrinn. He didn’t think the commander would actually read it, given that it was part of a gift exchange that the man wanted nothing to do with at the time, and he can’t help but feel a little flattered that Lothar would take the time at all to try and appreciate the gift.

Barely an hour passes with the pair of them reading silently, when urgent knocking on the front door startles Khadgar nearly a foot in the air. He lands hard, jarring his small body, and he bites back a cry of pain. The soreness of his back and side flares up with the treatment, but thankfully doesn’t get as sharp as yesterday.

Lothar gets up and turns the book face-down, which Khadgar  _ more than once _ reminded him not to do, and jogs to the door. He swings it open and a nervous-looking guard greets him.

“Good morning, sir!” the guard says, saluting. “I’m here with a message from Varis, sir. He says to tell you that there hasn’t been any sight of the mage since yesterday.”

Khadgar stiffens at the mention of himself. He can’t see Lothar’s face, but he presumes the man must be confused. 

“That’s normal, he disappears sometimes.” Lothar shrugs, and Khadgar notices that his voice betrays his concern. “Have you tried the library? Or the mage tower?”

“Yes, sir, all the usual places were checked.” The guard reports. “He was last seen heading out of Stormwind, if that helps?”

“... That doesn’t help at all, thank you.” Lothar says condescendingly. “Just… Tell Varis I’ll be in soon, I’ll help him look for the mage. He can’t have gone  _ far _ , he can barely ride a horse. He probably stayed in Goldshire overnight, or something.”

“Very well, sir.” The guard salutes one more time before turning around and walking away. Lothar watches them go, then closes the door with a curse. He hurries up the stairs, and Khadgar hears him moving things around (something big hits the floor and he hopes it wasn’t Lothar) and then the commander is coming back down wearing the same leather jerkin as yesterday, with the addition of some shoulderguards.

“Okay, stay there and be good.” Lothar tells him, pointing at the bowl. “You break this, and I’ll break your neck, yeah?”

Khadgar doesn’t have time to respond before the man is sprinting out the door, which closes behind him with a slam. The sound shakes the walls, and he can feel the vibrations in the table.

He shuffles around aimlessly, unsure of what to do in Lothar’s absence. He could try to lift the book and continue reading, but he fears that he lacks the strength to do so. Instead, he wanders around the table and observes the room again.

A black mark near the base of his bowl catches his eye, and he hops closer to see it. He squints a bit, because it’s rather small and looks like a scribble, but he eventually recognizes it as handwriting. ‘Cally’, the writing reads. Khadgar wonders who that might have been. The bowl’s artist, he assumes, but the name sounds too familiar. Did he meet a merchant by that name, perhaps?

Ah, no. It sounds remarkably like ‘Callan’, he realizes. Is that his mother’s name? Lothar’s wife?  Khadgar sits down in surprise. Somehow he’d forgotten than Lothar had a son, by his  _ wife _ no less. The commander is interested in women. How could he have forgotten?

He decides to lie down for a bit. 


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> woooah we're halfway there

The door opens with a slam, and Khadgar nearly wets himself with fright. Lothar stomps into the house cursing loudly. Khadgar watches as he heads back upstairs, returning with his sword clasped to his belt. The man eyes him indecisively, then picks him up and Khadgar squeaks in annoyance, displeased with the rough treatment. He wiggles around in the man’s grasp until he can see what direction they’re going. He’s surprised to find himself slowly coming up to the Keep’s gates. 

“Sir,” the two guards at the gate salute Lothar as he passes, but he barely spares them a glance. He storms up the marble stairs, taking them by twos and jostling Khadgar in the process, flinging the doors to the Keep open and he marches up to the throne.

“Anduin, what a pleasant surprise.” Queen Taria says with a smile. “I thought I told you to take some time off, didn’t I?”

“The mage is missing.” Lothar replies, and Taria’s brow furrows.

“Khadgar? Isn’t he in the library, perhaps?”

“We’ve checked there,” Lothar shakes his head and sighs in frustration. “The guard saw him leaving Stormwind yesterday, early afternoon, and he hasn’t been seen since.”

Taria hums as she thinks this information over. “Have you searched Goldshire?” she asks, to which Lothar nods. “Northshire, then?”

“He isn’t anywhere.” Lothar says harshly. “I’m asking you to allow me to put together a search party to go out and get him back. Probably got himself into trouble and can’t get out, I’d guess.”

“He can’t have gotten far-”

“I thought so too, but apparently he’s a lot faster on foot than we give him credit for.”

“Have you tried, Karazhan?” Taria asks, her voice stern. Khadgar recognizes her tone from when she’s disciplining her children, as rare as the occasions are. Lothar’s protest dies in his throat as he considers the possibility.

“He… could be, I suppose, but what would he go there for? There’s nothing Karazhan has more than Stormwind.” Lothar says, shifting the small black bunny from one had to the other. “We’ve already brought most of the important stuff to the mage tower here, anyway.”

“Something you made very sure of, didn’t you?” Taria teases lightly, though the look of concern on her face doesn’t melt away. Lothar stiffens as though she’d slapped him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lothar asks, defensive, and Khadgar can’t help but wonder the same thing.

“Nothing,” Taria says innocently, waving her hand dismissively. “Just that you take good care of him, is all. You can take nine soldiers with you for your search party, if you’d like, but please try not to be out for too long.”

Lothar’s mouth opens and closes as though he wants to say something further, but decides against it at the last minute. Instead, he holds Khadgar out to Taria like an offering. She stares down at the rabbit-mage in confusion, her hand twitching to reach out for it.

“... Anduin?” she asks, looking between her brother and the small animal in his hand.

“Can you hang onto him for me? He’s hurt and I don’t want to leave him alone in my house, in case he falls or something.” 

Taria smiles and takes the bunny from him, petting the creature gently. Her hands are soft, Khadgar thinks, but still rather strong. She would probably be able to pick up an entire crate of books without a problem, if she wanted to. 

“Of course I’ll watch him for you,” she says, “but I’m afraid the castle isn’t a very pet-friendly place to be.”

“I’ll be back for him tonight, don’t worry.” Lothar reassures her. “Thank you, Taria, I’ll head out immediately.”

Khadgar watches the man nearly trip over himself as he jogs down the hall. Taria holds him in one hand as she waves to her brother’s departing back, then she holds him up to her face and squints at him.

“Where did Anduin pick you up?” she asks, but Khadgar has no way of telling her what happened. He twitches his nose at her and wiggles his paws pitifully, and she grins at him and rubs his head.

The sound of her shoes hitting the tiled floor echoes throughout the throne room as she takes the stairs down and to the left, where Khadgar knows the library is. She stops when she reaches the small courtyard adjacent to the library, where Khadgar spots Varian and Adariall playing in the grass.

“Loves?” Taria calls, and the children scramble to their feet. They skip over to their mother and cling to her dress and she smiles down at them fondly.

“Yes mama?” Adariall asks, while Varian tries to raise himself onto his tiptoes to see what the woman has in her hands. Khadgar peeks over the side of Taria’s hand and blinks down at him.

“Can you look after this little rabbit for Uncle Anduin?” she asks, lowering Khadgar to the soft grass. “He’s been hurt and needs to be watched over for a little bit.”

“What happened to him?” Varian asks, laying on the grass beside Khadgar.

“I don’t know,” Taria admits. “But don’t play too roughly with him, he might get worse.”

“We’ll take care of him mama!” Adariall announces, sounding determined. Taria presses a gentle kiss on the top of her head and bends down a bit to pat Varian before straightening.

“Alright. Be good, then,” she tells them. They give her matching encouraging grins as she returns to the throne room.

The children turn to Khadgar slowly, curiosity and anticipation burning in their eyes, and the mage can’t help but feel a little bit of, hopefully misplaced, dread.


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> im so sorry I meant to get out a chapter every day but uh. things happen i guess. I meant to have two more out today but i couldn't do it i'm sorry ;v; I'll try harder next time

Varian lost interest in him much sooner than Adariall, but honestly Khadgar isn’t surprised. The boy returned to his toy soldiers, playing out a great battle with himself as the commander. Khadgar is a little flattered when Varian pretends one of his soldiers is a great mage fighting with spells, though the words the boy uses are gibberish at best. 

He would teach Varian some spells, if he weren’t afraid the boy would use them for childlike misdeeds. He’d been that way when he was young, and he doesn’t think Taria would appreciate coming home to burnt tapestries and waterlogged carpets.

Adariall, however, continues to pet Khadgar and urge him to try and do tricks for her. Unfortunately for Adariall, she isn’t quite as compelling to convince as Lothar. Khadgar stubbornly remains on his four paws, refusing to shake her hand and roll over.

_ Does she think I’m a dog, as well?! _ Khadgar internally scoffs.  _ Must run in the family or something. _

After around an hour of no results, Adariall finally gives up and settles for petting Khadgar instead, which the mage is more than pleased about. The child has a gentle touch, and is much kinder to him than Lothar was.

The day passes slowly, like molasses oozing out of a bowl. Khadgar tries to nibble on some grass but finds the taste to be unpleasant, and he promptly spits it out. Adariall finds this hilarious, naturally, and offers him some of her apple slices instead.

It’s nearing sundown when Khadgar hears angry stomping approaching the courtyard at a rapid pace. He turns to find Lothar coming down the hall with a storm in his face, and holding Atiesh. Khadgar shrinks into himself, wondering what the man must be thinking right now.

“Anduin? Anduin, what happened?” Taria’s voice floats out from behind him as she chases after her brother. “Did you find him?”

Lothar grunts in response, clearly not in a very good mood. He reaches the courtyard and eyes the Wrynn children. He tries to give them a welcoming smile, but ends up grimacing at them instead. Adariall scoots away.

“Anduin, answer me.” Taria demands, grabbing Lothar by the sleeve. “I am your  _ Queen _ , I have the right to know what happened to our Guardian. Our  _ friend! _ ”

“I don’t know where he is!” Lothar says, frustrated. Nearly growling, really. He waves Atiesh at her angrily and she leans away to avoid being hit. “This is all I got. Nobody knows  _ anything _ . Not even that band of lunatics hanging out outside the gates.”

“The band of lunatics Varis tells me you  _ beat up?” _ Taria frowns disapprovingly, grabbing Atiesh and ceasing Lothar’s increasingly frantic gestures. Lothar frowns back at her, confused. “He sent me a bird, earlier. You didn’t have to be such a-”

She stops herself, eyeing her children out of the corner of her eye before turning away slightly and lowering her voice. “You didn’t have to be so  _ violent _ , Anduin.” she amends. “They’re inconveniences at best. They didn’t deserve to be nearly beaten to death for not knowing more than we do about where Khadgar is.”

Lothar holds her gaze for a few seconds, then looks away. He stalks over to where Khadgar and Adariall are sitting, causing the girl to scootch back a few more inches in uncertainty. He sighs, resigned, and bends down to pick the bunny up. 

Khadgar allows himself to be handled, despite his discomfort at the way Lothar grabs him, and watches as Varian and Adariall turn to their mother inquisitively until Lothar’s arm blocks his view. The way to Lothar’s house is a blur, and the commander wastes no time in putting Khadgar back into the bowl.

The man is gone as soon as he came in, and Khadgar reels from the speed at which Lothar travelled. He’s alone in the house, and the ringing in his ears tells him that the door was probably slammed in the whirlwind of Lothar’s haste. 

Khadgar tries to climb out of the bowl but every time he reaches the edge it begins to tip, and he would really rather not anger Lothar more than he already has so he stays put. The light fades around him, and it’s decidedly dark outside by the time Lothar returns. He’s still holding Atiesh, to Khadgar’s surprise, but also two bottles of ale. Which, unfortunately, doesn’t come as a surprise.

He props himself up on the rim of the bowl and glares as Lothar stumbles in, already barely keeping himself upright using Atiesh to balance, to Khadgar’s dismay. Lothar puts the two bottles on the table and walks past uncaringly. He catches sight of Khadgar peering up at him and sneers.

“What’re  _ you _ lookin’ at?” Lothar demands, and Khadgar can smell the alcohol on his breath from here. He crawls backward into the bowl, and Lothar shakes his head and trudges up the stairs.

Khadgar hasn’t eaten anything since Adariall’s apple slices and, as kind as the offering was, he’s feeling pangs of hunger now. He looks around his bowl to see if he has any vegetables left but comes up empty-handed. Er, empty-pawed. It’s not like he could reach them anyway, he supposes. 

He looks in the direction of the stairs and wonders what sits heavier in his gut: his hunger, or his guilt? He shouldn’t feel so bad for his predicament, it was an accident after all, but the way Lothar is handling it right now is… not good. 

Sleep will probably be good for him. Hopefully he’ll turn back into a human soon and he can explain himself.


	8. 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i think. every 2 days is gonna to be how it is ._.  
> a little bit longer to make up for the time ;v; sorry!

    Morning comes faster than Khadgar would like it to. He’s abruptly woken up by the sound of someone knocking on the door, not very gently. He wants to roll over and ignore it, but given his proximity to the door it’s a little harder to do so.

    Lothar comes stomping down the stairs shortly after, looking just as annoyed as Khadgar feels. The man wipes sleep from his eyes and mutters insults under his breath and Khadgar tries to make himself as unimposing as possible. He must still be in a bad mood from yesterday. Lothar nearly rips the door off his hinges as he opens it, not even greeting the person outside.

    “Commander,” a familiar voice addresses him. Khadgar thinks it might be Varis, but he can’t see the man so he’s not sure. “I’m here to tell you that Queen Taria asked to have you removed from the search party.”

    Lothar is silent for a very long time, enough for both Varis (?) and Khadgar to grow uncomfortable and start fidgeting. Lothar exhales harshly through his nose and lowers his head and Khadgar can only imagine the look on the poor other soldier’s face.

    “Did she tell you why?” Lothar asks finally, voice low and dangerous. The soldier gulps nervously before replying.

    “She said that you are supposed to be taking a break, by orders of the Queen.” the soldier replies. “And if you refuse, she will-”

    “Let me guess, throw me in a cell?” Lothar sighs, lifting a hand and rubbing his face tiredly. “Alright, but tell her that I’m not happy about this. She should know. Thank you for coming, Varis.”

    Ah, so it was Varis. Khadgar peeks over the edge of the bowl again and watches Varis retreat and Lothar close the door behind him. Lothar makes a loud noise of frustration and bangs his head against the closed door. He turns his head, still leaning against the door, to look at Khadgar, and he sighs again.

    “I suppose staying in bed all day and not doing anything is out of the question?” Lothar asks, and honestly Khadgar would encourage him to do just that if the mage wasn’t dying of starvation. He shakes his head and Lothar sighs _again_ , then pushes himself off the door and makes his way over to Khadgar’s bowl.

    He lifts Khadgar out and puts him on the table, undoing the bandages and rewrapping them the same way as yesterday. Khadgar is glad that there’s barely any pain left, and he can stretch without instantly regretting it. He pats Lothar’s hand gratefully with his paw and the man chuckles at the gesture, patting his head in return.

    “What should we do today?” Lothar hums as he cleans up the bandages, and Khadgar does his best to shrug. He cocks his head to the side and makes a noise similar to a sneeze. Lothar laughs at him. “Yeah, I don’t know either, buddy.”

    Lothar busies himself with making breakfast: a bowl of dry cereal for himself, and some freshly-chopped vegetables for Khadgar. Khadgar scarfs them all down as if he hasn’t eaten in days which, while an exaggeration, is exactly how he happens to feel.

    “Wow, you were pretty hungry.” Lothar remarks, brow furrowing. “Did I feed you last night?”

    Khadgar swallows the last bit of carrot then shakes his head. Lothar makes a noise of remorse and pats the rabbit’s head.

    “Sorry about that,” he says. “I’m not supposed to… well, my sister and Khadgar always tell me I should stop.” He cuts himself off and looks out the window with a frown. “Fine way of honoring him while he’s missing, huh? Idiot.”

    Khadgar is inclined to agree with him, but he also knows that drinking is Lothar’s way of coping with everything that’s happened, as unhealthy as it is. He wishes he could tell Lothar how much he wants the man to be okay, how he wishes he could help him, but even if he were human he’d be too chicken to voice it. He would nag and chastise him the same way Taria does, because that’s safer than admitting he wants to be there for Lothar-- maybe _more,_ if the man would let him.

    Lothar seems deep in thought, still staring out the window. His cereal is half finished, and he periodically brings a bit of it to his mouth with his hand. Khadgar watches him in silence, unwilling to break the peace of the morning.

    After finishing his cereal, Lothar cleans up the table and picks Khadgar up before leaving his house. The mage squirms a bit in his hand, looking up at him in curiosity. Lothar smiles down at him.

    “I’ve got to work off this… tension, I guess, somehow.” Lothar says. “My old man always said exercise was a good stress reliever. I’ve gotta bring you with me to make sure you’re not getting into anymore trouble, okay?”

    Khadgar bristles at the assumption that he would be anything but an _angel_ , but allows himself to be carried anyway. Lothar takes the scenic route around the city, stopping by a shop every so often and peering inside, waving at the clerk before moving on. Some people stop and look at the bunny in Lothar’s hand, but none of them make comments about it. The man seems content with his small companion so they leave him be.

    Lothar walks through Old Town, dropping a silver into a beggar’s outstretched hand, and makes his way toward the small training area at the back. Khadgar wonders what he wants to do here, since there are decent training dummies by the barracks. There are less people here, though, and it’s likely Lothar wants to be alone today, which Khadgar can’t really blame him for.

    Lothar puts him down on a small hay bale by the wall. “Stay put, okay?” he instructs, shrugging off his vest and making a makeshift pen around him with it. “Don’t go wandering off, unless you want to get hurt again.”

    Khadgar nods and Lothar makes a satisfied nod back. He turns to the training dummies and begins practicing some combat moves.

    The mage doesn’t recognize most of them, he knows they probably have different names for each technique but for the life of him he can never remember any. Lothar never bothered to remind him, and he’s a mage anyway so it doesn’t do him any good knowing what the moves are called. All that matters is being able to _dodge_ them.

    The dummy takes a serious beating. Lothar pulls none of his punches, and one of the dummy’s arms comes dangerously close to snapping off. Khadgar winces internally every time the wooden figure makes an ominous cracking noise, but somehow it remains intact throughout Lothar’s merciless assault on it.

    Khadgar quickly becomes bored with watching Lothar beat up a wooden dummy and decides to have a look around. He’s seen this yard in passing, but he never bothered to really look at it before. He hops out of the nest Lothar made him, sliding off of the hay bale, and walks along the bottom of the wall.

    There’s a corral nearby and the few horses inside trot around nervously, eyeing Lothar. Their ears flick back and forth, and something in Khadgar tells him that they don’t like how angry the man is. It must be an animal instinct, he thinks, because he was never this intuitive with horses before. In fact, as Lothar could probably confirm, Khadgar prefers to stay as far away from horses unless strictly necessary.

    Something falls over him like a drape and he squeaks in surprise. He wiggles his way out from under it and looks around for the source. Lothar looks down at him, shirtless, with a big smirk on his face.

    “I thought I told you not to go wandering off?” he inquires, shaking his head. He doesn’t add anything else though, likely just relieved Khadgar hasn’t gone any further. He returns to the poor dummy and resumes his practice.

    Khadgar crawls out from under the (now identified) discarded shirt and rubs his face with his paws. Lothar shirtless isn’t something he’s unfamiliar with by far, he’d probably seen the man nearly clothesless more than he would have liked to, but the sight always renders him speechless and flustered for a good few minutes until he recovers his composure. As it turns out, the same happens to him even as a bunny.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like it Tote!! <3
> 
> unbeta'd mess, please tell me if you spot something wrong :0c


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